Barton men finish in tie with Dodge City in West action

It was nearly a miracle finish for the Barton men's soccer team.

In one way it was as the Cougars avoided a loss to Dodge City Saturday afternoon at the Barton Sports Complex. But a buzzer-beating goal to tie the game at the end of regulation gave Barton just that – a tie.

Barton and Dodge City ended in a 2-all tie through a pair 10-minute overtimes in Jayhawk West action. The tie gives Barton 1-0-1 mark in region play and a 5-1-1 overall record. Dodge City is 2-1-1 and 5-2-1.

It looked as if Barton was headed to defeat in the contest as regulation time wound down to the final buzzer.

But as the final seconds ticked off Barton sophomore Hiroo Kimura played the role of hero.

Kimura just beat the final buzzer with a goal and sent the Cougar fans and Barton bench wild with the game-tying effort.

But neither team was able to score in the 20 minutes of overtime.

The Cougars played much of the contest a man down but were able to keep pace with Dodge City. The Conquistadors took an early 1-0 lead just minutes into the contest but Barton evened the match at 1-all with 13 minutes left in the first half.

Tevin Rochester made it a 1-all contest when he scored on an assist from Damia Viader with 13:40 left before half.

Dodge City retook a 2-1 lead early in the second half when Kieran Guther found the net on a corner kick from Cesar Alvarez.

That is how the match stayed until the final seconds and the heroics of Kimura.

The Cougars will be back home Monday to take on Garden City. The contest is a make up from a postponement last week. Kickoff is set for 4 pm.

Garden is 1-0 in the West after beating Pratt and is 4-1 overall on the season.

The Cougars will wrap up their 4-game home stand Wednesday when Pratt visits.

Barton 2, Dodge 2

Dodge 1 1 0 0 – 2

Barton 1 1 0 0 – 2

Dodge – Alvarez (unassisted), 8:00

Barton – Rochester (Vaider), 32:00

Dodge – Gutherie (Alvarez), 52:00